I do not like to blog. It takes time away from what I adore – writing. Most of the time, it seems an exercise in futility, rather like standing in the middle of the Sahara and giving an impassioned speech. “Is anyone out there?” I can hear myself screaming. Better still – “Is anyone reading this damn thing?”

I began writing and publishing before blogging became a requirement for authors. In those days (the late 90s), authors did book signings and tours. I did a lot of that. It wasn’t all that bad, maybe because I expected it to be part of the author life. I was never required to give a speech at those signings. Nor did I believe anyone expected me to entertain them. I was there to smile, say ‘hi’, talk a bit about my book, give out chocolates and hopefully sell my stories.

Now, though…ugh.

Every single day is another blog whether it’s on my own site, another site I own, as a guest on other sites, or as a member of the sites I’m a member on. Good god, even when I was a teenager and liked to interact with people, I didn’t have to interact this much.

I have to wonder if blogging really does any good in reaching fans.

When I first discovered I liked horror (after seeing all the Nightmare on Elm Street movies), I started to read Stephen King’s novels, beginning with his earliest. I was enthralled. I thought he was a god. I pictured him as being well over six feet, dark, handsome as hell. When I went to the library to get one of his books in hardcover and saw his picture – whoa. Frankly, I was crushed. I couldn’t believe he looked like he did (sorry Stephen). Then, I read a nonfiction book he wrote on writing. Some of the stuff he said didn’t set too well with me. At that point, I figured it was all TMI (too much information). I liked it better when he was a god in my mind with an air of mystery about him.

Did you ever consider that it’s the same with all this blogging going on? Do fans buy our books because they like our blogs? I doubt it. Do they become fans because of our blogs? I doubt that too. Has any writer become a bestseller because of her/his blog? If they have, then I truly believe it’s a major fluke. There is so much out there to read, if my fans read all my blogs, they wouldn’t have time to read my books. And maybe, just maybe, I’ll say something in a blog that doesn’t fit in with their previous image of me and they’ll say bye-bye.

For now, it seems there’s little choice for authors. Blogging, having a website, having an internet presence is considered a marketing tool, so we authors slog through it as much as we can.

For me, nothing will ever compete with writing a book. Wow, what a feeling. Judge me on that, not my blogs.